 "Photo: KELLY GOLLOGLY/THE BATES STUDENT")
It was 11 a.m. on a Monday, and I should’ve been eating chicken crispitos with my friends in Commons, dressed in a pair of fading designer jeans I bought at 75 percent off at Filene’s Basement, a J. Crew sweater, and a pair of moccasins. Make-up? Perhaps a bit of blush or eye shadow. Hair? Probably hanging limply and wavy because I couldn’t be bothered to style it. I certainly wouldn’t have been featured in The Student’s Best Dressed column, but at least I would’ve been comfortable.
But I wasn’t in Commons that morning, and I was a far cry from comfortable. Instead, I found myself clutching my bag nervously against my side as I rode up one of 20-some elevators in the elegant lobby of an office building in Boston’s financial district. I made eye contact with the reflection in the glass walls of the elevator. Who was that? Why was she wearing a business suit? And what had she done with Regina?
I’ve never liked getting dressed up. As a little girl, I continually fought against wearing skirts and dresses and dreaded the thought of pantyhose. I found solace in Bates' laid-back attitude about fashion, where even on Friday and Saturday nights, I could get away wearing jeans and a basic “going out” shirt from the Gap or J. Crew.
But as relaxed as Bates may be about fashion, none of us can stay here forever. And in the real world, where one must cook one’s own meals, pay one’s own bills, and even clean one’s own bathroom, where one’s morning commute is not across the Quad but across a crowded metropolis, looking good matters.
So seniors, shed your Rainbows and North Faces, your flannel shirts and French braids. There’s a scary new world out there beyond the Bates Bubble, and it’s only going to give us a chance of employment if we suit up.
For those of us who don’t enjoy “suiting up” daily like Barney Stinson of “How I met Your Mother,” this realization can be frustrating. But I’m convinced that the dos and don’ts of business attire are significantly, and needlessly, worse for women. After all, how hard can it be to pick out a conservatively-cut, dark-colored suit, buy a pair of dress shoes, and comb your hair nicely? Men founded the business world, and they still have it easier out there when it comes to breaking into it.
For a woman, the chaos begins with the suit itself. Skirt or slacks? Popular wisdom says that if you buy a skirt, you should ensure it comes down to your knees; otherwise, your potential employer will think you’re slutty. Likewise, girls should make sure their skirt is buttoned appropriately and not too revealing. But don’t look too prudish, either, we’re told. After all, we need to look attractive, especially if our interviewer is male. Mixed messages, much?
And then, there are pantyhose. Clingy, uncomfortable, itchy pantyhose. For someone with challenged coordination skills like myself, putting on pantyhose can be quite the feat. As I slipped my feet into a pair of them before my interview last week, I snagged them. Not just a small snag, but an all-encompassing, quick-spread, nightmare of a snag. Nail polish, I knew, could do nothing to save this. With no other pantyhose available and the clock ticking, I prayed the tear wouldn’t spread down past my knee before the interview.
Even shoes, which are usually a point of excitement and celebration among women, become problematic when it comes to interview attire. Few things in the world are worse than a pair of ill-fitting high heels, and most high heels tend to be ill-fitting. Heels are intended to make one appear more attractive and stylish, yet walking in them can ultimately make one (especially if that one is me) look more like a clown. And when it’s icy outside? Forget it.
If the pain caused by high heels weren’t enough, there is also the problem of finding the right pair. Like a business suit, this can be far more complicated than it appears. Your heels shouldn’t be too high, the general advice goes. But don’t wear flats, either. Keep things conservative and basic. But where does one draw the “conservative” line? I recently bought a pair of what I thought were pretty tame heels, but the toes were more than a bit pointed. “Were these okay?” I wondered. I supposed the preferences of the employer would come into play regarding the issue.
This brings me to yet another hardship of the female interviewee. What one should wear to an interview at, say, a law firm, is not likely what one should wear to an interview at an advertising agency. Job candidates have to dress the part, which means they must own an array of formal interview clothing. Not only is having to own such a variety of business attire expensive, but ensuring that you’re dressed appropriately for a given office environment can be impossible without possessing insider knowledge of the company or industry. If your style doesn’t strike a chord with the employer, it’s likely you may not get a call back.
Last, but certainly not least, is hair. An up-do looks more formal, but it can also be trickier. A woman choosing an up-do also runs the risk that it may get sloppy as the day progresses, or that the wind will blow pieces out of place. The latter is precisely what happened to me in Boston. As interviewees often don’t have time to duck into a bathroom before an interview session, they often have no choice other than to blindly fix their ’do and cross their fingers.
When my interview concluded and I exited the office that day, I began pondering why exactly such complex and stringent rules must govern women’s interview attire at all. Although I admittedly liked the way I looked in my suit, the whole ensemble caused me more ill than good that day. I glanced down at my legs to check on my pantyhose repeatedly throughout my interviews, and continually worried about the state of my hair after my jaunt through the windy city. More importantly, I didn’t feel entirely myself in my skirt, blazer and heels. Would I have not come off more naturally myself had I been in attire which was more familiar and comfortable to me?
2 comments
As a leg-man I long for the the days when girls always wore hose with skirts... Only biker and trailer park chicks had tattoos... And only bimbos went to tanning salons.
Pantyhose look great girls! that's why they've been so popular for 50 years. bare legs with a nice dress and shoes suck!!!!